Haunted
by Free-Desert-Wind
Summary: It's the start of Sam's Junior year, but there's a new ghost complicating things. When he shows a particular interest in the Goth, how will it affect her relationship with her best friend? DS
1. A Brief Introduction

**Before this story begins, I'd like to address a note to all of the readers of my newly deleted Teen Titans Fan Fiction :** _Don't worry, I'm still alive, and I still love Teen Titans, but there is an explanation about _"Baby-Sitting"_ and why I deleted it on my profile. I am in the middle of writing another TT story with the same 'ships, but it's not quite ready to be posted yet. Lately I've been reading about and getting into the Danny and Sam relationship, which leads me to this:_

**Haunted**

_By: Free-Desert-Wind_

Ch I – A Brief Introduction

_A young ghost named Haunt was strolling through the ghost zone, practicing his powers and thinking of all the fun he could be having if he weren't stuck where he was. He wore a tight fitting black shirt, equally tight black jeans, and an angry scowl. Billowing out behind him was a silken red cape that matched his cardinal colored hair. Haunt blasted his crimson powers off into space angrily, wishing for something better to do._

_Abruptly, an answer to the specter's silent pleas came in the form of a rip in the ghost zone, with a passageway into the unknown world beyond. Haunt's yellow eyes quickly surveyed his surroundings, and when he found that nobody was watching, he flew through the strange portal with a crooked smile, gladly accepting this unexpected change of pace._

_When he reached the other side of the ghostly doorway, which closed immediately, Haunt found himself in the world of the living. He quickly became invisible to avoid detection, and glanced around the area. By the looks of it, he was in some sort of lab. Everything was covered in metal and beeping electronics. Haunt took off into the air for a bird's eye view. He shared this room with two other beings ─ living humans. One was a large man in a tight orange jumpsuit, and the other was a much thinner woman in blue. They were both bending over and studying some of the devices around them, checking for functionality. Haunt supposed that they had just checked to see if the portal was in working condition, giving him the opportunity to escape._

_Just as the spirit was debating whether he should stay and observe these people, or go off to enjoy himself, the larger man spoke to his companion._

"_Maddie, do you think I should grease this lever up some more, or is it going to be fine?" _

"_I don't know, it's really up to you dear," she replied._

"_Well, I forget how loose this is supposed to be. You know we've hardly gotten any work done this summer. I'm out of practice."_

"_Jack, it was your idea to take a break from ghost hunting while the kids were off school. I still think it was a great thing to do."_

"_But Maddie, I still don't know how loose or tight this thing should be."_

_Apparently, Maddie was unconcerned with whatever Jack was indicating to as she continued, "It was so nice to be able to spend more time with Jazz and Danny before she went off to college and he went back to school."_

"_Maddie, I need your help."_

_Maddie laughed, "I don't think Danny liked it that much though. How do you think he's doing right now?"_

_The larger man turned away from the switch. "What's wrong with Danny?"_

"_Nothing, I don't think," Maddie responded, "It's his first day back at school, that's all."_

_Haunt was really starting to get bored with this conversation. He didn't really care about anything other than having a good time while he could be in the realm of the living, so he left._

_Once Haunt was in the air, he did several victorious loops in the sky, glad to be free. Abruptly, he stopped in mid-loop. He sensed something ─ there were traces of another ghost nearby. Haunt grinned mischievously; perhaps this fellow ghost would know how to have fun around here._

_He flew around in slow circles, trying to catch a stronger hold on the other ghost's traces, but to no avail. Haunt settled for following the minor imprints of this other ghost, hoping that they weren't too old, and that he'd be able to find him._

_As Haunt got nearer, he sensed the traces becoming slightly more powerful, but they were still very weak. Haunt decided that the other ghost he was tracking had to be a halfa. He knew next to nothing about halfa ghosts, except that they were rare, and he assumed that this half-ghost would be little fun._

_When Haunt found the other ghost outside of a building labeled Casper High, he flew behind him to get a better look with less of a chance of being detected. Haunt watched as the other ghost turned out to be a young boy like himself, only scrawnier, and obviously less fun. This boy was flanked by two others ─ not ghosts ─ a boy with a red beret, and a girl with dark black hair that matched her generously applied eyeliner. The three of them talked casually amongst themselves, but Haunt was not interested; instead, he studied the girl in silence, floating around to the front of the trio for a better look. _'There,' _he thought, still staring at her, _'I think I've found my fun.'

Author Time:

Yes, I am aware of how incredibly short this chapter is. I assure you this is not the standard amount you should expect in upcoming chapters. This isn't really a chapter, but more of an introduction to the character Haunt, and the rest of my story.

Thank you for reading my first ever Danny Phantom Fan Fiction!

I have a confession to make now: I do not know much about Danny Phantom. I have seen a few episodes, and read many fan fictions, but not enough to call myself qualified to write about it. I am apologizing ahead of time for any mistakes I hope I won't make, and giving avid fans of the show permission to correct me when I'm wrong.


	2. Back to School Embarrassment

**Chapter II ─ Back to School Embarrassment**

Danny Fenton, Samantha Manson, and Tucker Foley were all seated on a brick wall near the entrance to Casper High. They had just finished comparing their class schedules for the new year. Tucker and Danny shared one class, Tucker and Sam shared two classes, and Danny and Sam shared three classes. The whole trio had third period Spanish together.

"Well," Tucker announced, "this is much better than last year's schedule."

"Tell me about it," sighed Danny.

"Well, Tuck and I had one class, you and I had one class, and you and Tuck had none," Sam answered cheekily, knowing that Danny was being sarcastic.

"And there were no classes with all three of us," added Tucker.

Last year had definitely not been fun, but junior year promised to be much better.

Danny sighed, then narrowed his eyes when his breath turned out to be a visible blue.

"Ghost senses tingling?" asked Tucker.

"Yeah, cover for me," Danny replied as he hopped behind the wall and into some bushes.

Tucker and Sam heard his enthusiastic cry of "I'm going ghost!" This, paired with a bright flash of white light coming from the foliage denoted the arrival of Danny Phantom, ghost-boy.

Danny flew out of the shrubbery and up towards the sky, apparently chasing another ghost who had been hiding in the area.

"Look, there goes Inviso-Bill!" cried Paulina, the most shallow and most adored girl of the grade. She then watched sadly, as Danny flew into the distance without her.

The in-crowd giggled briefly, then went back to discussing the latest haircuts, deciding whether Paulina's new shirt was too tight or not, and weighing the pros and cons of wearing high-heels.

"If I were Danny, I'd totally use the ghost thing to score a date with Paulina, or at least to get a date for my friend," sighed Tucker as he shoved his schedule into his bag.

"Sorry, can't say that I'd do that," Sam rolled her eyes.

"Why not?"

"Um, Tuck, in case you haven't noticed, I'm a girl. I don't like Paulina. And even if I were Danny, I still wouldn't."

"Why not? She's totally hot."

Sam raised her eyebrows and glanced in Paulina's direction. Sure, she had the hair, the face, the looks, the preppiness, but she certainly was missing something. "She has no thoughts of her own. If _Seventeen_, or _Abercrombie and Fitch_, or whatever those people worship told them that clothes weren't cool, they'd all come to school naked."

Sam watched as Tucker's eyes glazed over. Okay, so maybe it was her fault he was getting mental images of the entire in-crowd totally nude.

"Tuck, Tuck? Are you there?"

Tucker shook his head and snapped out of his fantasy. "Yeah, what?"

"You just missed my speech," Sam reminded him.

"No, it was about girls with no free will coming to school without clothes."

"Close enough."

The bell rang for class, and the entire school began to march towards first period, full of the excitement of their first day back at school, or the dread of the incoming freshmen.

Tucker and Sam stood up from the wall and started to cram themselves through the traffic jam at the school's entrance while maintaining their conversation.

"So," Tucker continued, "You don't like the popular girls because they're all trend-followers with no sense of uniqueness or minds of their own?"

Sam was impressed. He'd summarized her feelings up pretty well. "Yeah, they need to be more individualistic, like me."

It was now Tucker's turn to roll his eyes, "Yep, you're unique all right."

A giant sophomore got between Sam and Tucker's conversation. Separating the two of them until they finally got out of the crowd.

"So," Tucker said slyly when the pair got back together, "you're saying that if you were Danny, you'd like somebody less like Paulina and more like you."

"Exactly," Sam grinned, nodding her head decisively. It took her a moment to realize what she'd just agreed to. "Tucker!"

Tucker laughed as she sullenly crossed her arms over her chest. "Admit it, I totally got you there!"

"You know I didn't mean it like that!"

"Yeah, right."

Sam shook her head and turned into the next hallway on their right. "Hey, where're you going?" Tucker shouted after her.

"Class," Sam shouted over her shoulder as she kept walking. She didn't wait for Tucker's answer before she started thinking to herself. Sometimes, Tucker just annoyed her. He sometimes got up in her face and wouldn't just leave her be. Especially about Danny. Well, actually, the whole world was obsessed with her and Danny. Ever since Freshman year, and maybe even before that, people had been pairing them up as a couple. Sam didn't get it. She spent almost the same amount of time with him as she did with Tucker, why weren't they bugging her about him?

Next thing she knew, Sam was right in front of her first period classroom. She stopped thinking about her and Danny and started debating about where to sit. Should she place herself in the front or the back? On the side or in the middle? Near people she already knew, or by strangers she just might have a chance with?

After a quick moment of puzzling, Sam selected a seat in the second row, towards the center. The second row was usually her choice. It wasn't as nerdy of a move as the first row, but it still gave the teacher the impression that she was a good student. It was also usually available, as most students were either way up front or hiding in the back.

Sam took her seat and looked around. This was her English classroom for the next year. Her teacher wasn't in the room yet, but the students were all around her discussing the events of their summers. It was times like these when she wished she had more than just Danny and Tucker.

Sam reached into her backpack and pulled out a pencil, trying to do something to occupy the time before class started. Within the next thirty seconds, the teacher came into the classroom. Sam dropped her purple mechanical pencil. What was Lancer doing here again?

Mr. Lancer had been Sam, Tucker, and Danny's freshman English teacher. She thought they had gotten rid of him when they graduated into the tenth grade, apparently not. _'He must've changed classrooms and started teaching eleventh grade English.'_

The bell rang and class started. Sam noticed with a tinge of remorse that there was absolutely nobody seated on either side of her. She briefly glanced around the classroom. Every other seat was taken. Nobody wanted to sit with the Goth girl. They were all afraid that they would catch cooties or something.

"Alright, now that we've gotten our cue from the bell, we shall begin: Anderson, Sarah?" Mr. Lancer called, beginning roll.

"Here," came a shy voice from the back.

"Baxter, Dash?"

Sam cringed. She already knew that Dash was definitely _not_ the most amiable person in the room right now.

"Yeah?" Dashes voice was coming from the back left corner. _'Figures that he'd sit there.'_

"Ah, I remember you from your freshman year, Mr. Baxter," said Mr. Lancer with a knowing look before he moved on, "Brown, Christopher?"

"Friends call me Chris," said Chris, a blonde boy in the third row.

"Dawson, Joseph?"

"Joey," was all Joey said in return.

"DeWard, Malarie?"

"Present." A couple people in the back snickered after Malarie raised her hand in the front row; she was clearly a goodie-good.

"Thank you Ms. DeWard."

"Eaton, Peggy?"

Nobody answered. "Well, I suppose she's not here," Mr. Lancer mumbled as he marked off his roll sheet.

"Ah, here's another someone who enjoyed my class two years ago: Fenton, Danny?"

Sam had completely forgotten that she shared her first class of the day with Danny, which was weird considering that she'd been talking and thinking about him non-stop since he left. Danny was still out fighting that ghost. She had to come up with some sort of cover…"He's in the bathroom!" she shouted.

"No I'm not," came Danny's voice from her right.

Sam slowly turned her head to look over towards him. Her face turned a soft crimson when she realized that he was seated right there, and that the rest of the class was laughing at her, including Danny.

"Ms. Manson, do you need to visit the nurse this morning?" asked Mr. Lancer with concern.

Sam just sunk into her seat, becoming a puddle of embarrassment as the class went into a laughing fit at her expense. They had all needed something to take their minds off the pressure of their first day, and that release became Sam.

"No, she's okay," Danny answered for her.

Mr. Lancer shrugged and continued calling roll whilst the rest of the room slowly settled down.

Time passed uneventfully as Mr. Lancer completed roll call and started passing out syllabuses to his students. Every year, teachers would hand students packets of paper describing pointless things like rules, schedules, and grading systems. Parents were to sign these papers, students were to keep them, and the packets were destined to collect dust as they were never looked at again. It was a complete waste of nature's precious trees.

In the middle of Mr. Lancers description of the syllabus, Sam felt a crumpled up paper bounce off her shoulder. She knew it was a note from Danny, so she leant down to scoop it up. Danny was watching her closely as she did so, but then he immediately looked away with a small blush. Sam had the most terrible feeling about what caused him to turn his head so quickly, and sure enough, when she looked down, her shirt had completely gaped open, giving a clear path to stuff she certainly didn't show the world. _'Crap.'_

Sam released a high-pitched "eep", grabbed the note, and returned to her upright position in an instant. She could feel the blood rushing up to her face, and it certainly didn't help when Mr. Lancer said, "Samantha, that's the second outburst in less than a whole period, are you sure you're alright?"

If it were ever possible for a person to die of humiliation, Sam would have certainly been six feet under. The class burst out into a second round of laughter that even Mr. Lancer joined this time. Sam grimaced and looked over to see if Danny was laughing. That definitely would have killed her. Fortunately for her health, Danny was not laughing. His face was just as red as she expected hers to be, and he was sitting very still, entranced with the pencil he was flicking at in his hand, staring at it and trying to ignore everything else.

This told Sam all she needed to know. Danny had seen. Sam covered her face in her hands and shook her head. Before the class finished cackling at her, Sam discreetly glanced down her own shirt to check what Danny saw. She had been wearing her white bra. Sam groaned, but nobody could hear it over their laughter.

She couldn't decide whether the white bra was a bad thing, or a good thing. It definitely gave off a virgin-y impression, but Danny already knew that. It was also somewhat dorky, particularly under a black shirt. Then again, Sam could've been wearing a black bra, which against her shirt would've been much more difficult to tell if it was even there. Even worse would've been if she had worn one of the lacier ones her mom had bought her. _'That would've been terrible.'_

Sam pulled her hands off her face and reached for her note, just for something to do with her hands. The class had stopped giggling by now, but Danny was still avoiding eye contact with her.

Sam shakily opened the note, hoping it was something worth all this trouble. There on the torn sheet of notebook paper was the incredibly eloquent sentiment: "Sorry about that".

Sam clicked her tongue; he hadn't even bothered with a period. All that drama for one lame apology?

The Goth ked up her pencil and began her reply to his message. As she was writing, she felt another note hit her, this time on the wrist. Luckily, it stayed on her desk, keeping her from having to bend over a second time.

She opened this note before she finished writing. It read: "Sorry about that too."

Sam put the note down and continued writing her own, when she passed it back, it said: "Next time you should tell me when you sneak into the room like that so I don't have to cover for you…and about the other thing…I'm sure it wasn't your fault…"

She had no idea what to say to a guy when he accidentally sees down your shirt. She hoped what she had written was appropriate. Sam didn't want to sound like she didn't care who saw her bra, but she also wanted to make sure she didn't come across as being too freaked out, even though she was.

Sam pretended to listen to Mr. Lancer's lecture on "Rules and Consequences: The Importance of Discipline", but when Danny's note came back to her, her attention switched to it instead.

"Yeah, um…I came into the room invisible while I hope nobody else was looking. Um…can we just…forget about the other thing? And can we especially not tell Tuck about it?" said the note.

Sam wrote her quick response and passed the paper once more to Danny. He accepted it, read it, and looked relieved that Sam had written that she'd already forgotten about it.

When the bell finally rang for second period, Sam and Danny walked out together. It was a little awkward, but they managed to converse all the same.

"So, who'd have thunk that we'd have Lancer again?" Danny laughed.

Sam smiled appreciatively, "You know, when I saw him walk into the room, my first thought was of that TV show, 'Boy Meets World', where Mr. Pheeny pretty much follows the main characters as they grow up."

"Yeah, thank god I don't live next door to Mr. Lancer."

Sam laughed. "What class did you say you had next?" she asked.

"Chemistry, you?"

"Oh, I took that class last year. I'm headed for History. Tuck's going to be in that class."

Danny slowed down and looked Sam straight in the eyes, "Please don't tell him about…" he was interrupted.

"Don't worry. I'm more embarrassed than you."

"Okay, because I totally don't want him to have more ammunition to fire about us being a couple."

Sam remembered her conversation before first period and smiled sorrowfully as she told Danny, "I don't think if I became a nun he'd stop bugging us."

"Can Jewish girls become nuns?"

Sam laughed. "No, I don't think so."

"Oh, well that's good, because you'd make a terrible nun," Danny teased.

"Hey!"

Just then, a set of three, quick rings over the P.A. system told them that they had a minute to get to class. Danny grinned and said, "See ya!" before running off towards the science hall.

"Why on earth did you start walking in this direction?" she shouted. The science hall was in a different direction than history.

"I had to make sure you wouldn't tell Tuck!"

Sam grinned to herself. Danny was such a dork. _'An awfully cute dork,'_ she thought, before silently correcting herself: _'Cute in a friendly way, not a romantic way.'_

"Hey Sam, what's up?" Tucker asked as Sam took a seat next to him in the third row of her second class of the day.

"Nothing much, you?"

"I just had an interesting first period. Do you have Mr. Thomas?"

Sam checked her schedule, "Yeah, I have him fifth period, and I think Danny's in that class too."

Tucker nodded, "Remember how boring math was last year?"

Sam groaned, "Yes."

"Well, Mr. Thomas' class is the opposite, it's great!"

"Really?"

"Yeah, how was your first period?"

The bell rang, indicating the start of class, but the teacher hadn't moved from her desk, so the students kept talking.

Sam shrugged, "Embarrassing."

"What happened?"

"Danny snuck in and I made a fool of myself when I made up a stupid cover, and he was already there."

Tucker laughed, "Aw, poor you," he said with little concern. "Did he say anything about the ghost? Who was it?"

Sam thought for a moment before telling Tucker, "I don't know, there was no time for him to tell me about the ghost."

Tucker nodded and looked like he was about to say something, but the teacher stood up and everyone in the classroom hushed.

"Hello students, I am Mrs. McDonaldson." A couple students bravely snickered at her name.

"I will teach American History, and you will learn it."

Tucker leaned over to Sam's desk whispering, "I heard she's tough."

"There will be no whispering, note passing, or talking during my lectures." Mrs. McDonaldson glared directly at Tucker as she said that.

'_Looks like this is going to be another one of those boring classes,'_ thought Sam.

* * *

After Mrs. McDonaldson's class came break. Danny, Sam, and Tucker all met up outside of their lockers to talk.

"So, is Mrs. McDonaldson as terrible as everyone says?" asked Danny.

"Yeah," Sam replied, "She always talks to us like she's yelling."

"That sucks for you. I don't have her."

"Are you serious?" Tucker stepped forward to check Danny's schedule.

"Yeah, I've got Mr. Crow instead."

"He must be new," said Sam, "I've never heard of him."

"Hey Tuck, did you notice who your English teacher was on your schedule?" asked Danny.

"No…" Tucker reached into his book bag for the paper, "Oh man, why is Lancer teaching us again?"

"I don't know, but I've got even more news too," Danny announced, leaning in towards the group. As he did, Sam caught a whiff of his hair. It smelled nice, like soap. She liked it.

"What's the news about?" Tuck inquired.

"The ghost I fought this morning, he flew away."

"You mean, you didn't catch him?" Sam asked.

"Yes and no. I didn't catch him, but it was weird. You know how most ghosts fight back when you confront them? This one just flew away." Danny looked confused as he recalled the events of that morning, "I tried to get close enough to him to use the Fenton Thermos, but his top speed was just about the same as mine, so I could never really catch up when he had the head start."

"That's really weird," Tucker pointed out.

"Did he say anything?" Sam questioned.

"He just said that he was here to have fun. It was really weird."

Tucker and Sam glanced at each other. This other ghost was definitely going to be interesting.

Author Time:

Ah, I had wanted to include more about their first day back at school, and possibly even get to the part where they got home, but I didn't want to write too much. I suppose I'll end this chapter here. Tell me if you'd like me to write longer chapters. I can do more if you people want.

Thanks for reading!


	3. Even More First Day Drama

To all of my readers: I don't think I can express how sorry I am for the long delay between this and my last installment. I did not do it on purpose. I just got very busy with school, work, and my swim team. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, in fact, I'd go to school for six hours, go to swim for two, go to work for three, and go to sleep as soon as I got home. Then, when swim season ended, I had two huge school projects to do, so I had to spend all my spare time working on those. When summer break finally arrived, my computer broke. (Probably from all thestress of those projects...j/k...it's just kind of old.) I had to take it to a computer doctor and they gave me a whole new screen. However, it's almost a full inch smaller all around, which makes a huge difference.

Like I said before, I'm incredibly sorry about the wait for this update. I can't promise that nothing terrible will ever occur again, but I can promise to try not to let anything happen.

Anyway, I'd like to send thanks to all my readers, and special thanks to those of them that reviewed. I hope you all enjoy the third chapter of "Haunted."

**Chapter III ─ Even More First Day Drama**

Danny, Sam, and Tucker continued chatting outside their lockers during break. After agreeing that the ghost Danny "fought" that morning was weird, the subject switched to something else.

"Whatever," Tucker said, "I heard Danny embarrassed Sam a lot in first period."

Danny's eyes widened and he spun around to stare at Sam. She put her hands up by her face, signaling that she hadn't said anything.

"How'd you know about that?" asked Danny, with slight fear recognizablein his voice.

"Geez Danny, don't get all bugged out. I was just making conversation."

"Danny, I didn't tell him." Sam added. "Besides," she hissed, so Tucker could not hear, "I thought we were supposed to forget everything."

"Tell me what? What happened?" Tucker asked suspiciously.

"Nothing." Danny and Sam said together.

Tucker eyed the two of them, then decided, "You guys are acting so weird."

Tucker turned around to pull something out of his locker, watching Danny and Sam the whole time. When he had to look away to put in his combination, Danny leaned close to Sam's ear and whispered, "Sorry."

"You've been apologizing a lot lately," Sam snapped. She was a bit angry, partly surprised, but mostly stunned by how close Danny's face was to hers.

"Sorry about that too," he said, sounding amused.

Sam didn't say anything. He was laughing softly, right in her ear. She could feel his breath against her neck and the side of her face. _'Why doesn't he just lean back a little? Do people always stand this closely when they whisper? Why do I even care?'_

Tucker looked back from his locker. Danny immediately stepped away from Sam and tried to look like he hadn't just been whispering behind Tucker's back.

"Yeah, you're definitely acting weird," he stated.

The bell rang again. This time it signaled that break was over, and that all of the students needed to head for their third period class.

"Hey, this is when we all have Spanish together, right?" Danny asked.

"Yeah, with Ms. Hazel, I had her last year." Tucker grinned, "This class promises to be quite fun."

"Great," Sam said sincerely, "shall we go?"

The three of them all headed off towards Ms. Hazel's classroom in the Foreign Language and Fine Arts Hall.

Paulina turned out to be with the three of them in their Spanish class. Sam wondered why she was only in Spanish II when she obviously had a Latino heritage. It was probably because she could get an easy "A" in an easy Spanish class.

Sam, Danny and Tucker all seated themselves in the fourth row back, but as soon as class started, Ms. Hazel told everyone to stand up; she would assign them a seating chart.

Everyone in the classroom groaned. Hadn't they outgrown those things by now?

Ms. Hazel turned out to be a very…quirky woman. She had a different way of looking at things that sometimes made her students impressed, and other times made them wonder if she forgot to take her pills that morning. She showed this side of her when she assigned their seats. She called up three students at a time, in alphabetical order, and gave them a random set of three seats in a row. The first group to be called was "Abner, Anderson, Briggs", and Sam recognized Sarah Anderson from her first period. The three of them were placed in the same three seats that Sam, Danny, and Tucker had just occupied.

The teacher called out another set of students, and placed them in the back corner. The next group called out was "Fenton, Foley, and Geyser". Danny and Tucker high-fived each other at their good luck, and as they took their seats (Danny in the front row, Tucker behind him, and a boy named Dean Geyser following him) both of them smiled hopefully towards Sam.

Ms. Hazel called out the group with Paulina's name, and Sam could practically hear the silent prayers of every male in the room begging to be placed next to the popular girl. When Ms. Hazel gave her the seat right next to Danny, he beamed as if he had just won the lottery. Sam crossed her arms angrily. _'She's so shallow, I can't even ignore her.'_

When her name was eventually called, along with Chelsea Medford and Krystal Osen, Sam crossed her fingers and silently begged to be placed in one of the seats next to Tucker or Danny. She wouldn't be able to stand it if they got to be together with Paulina, but she was all alone.

"Krystal, this is your new spot," Ms. Hazel pointed to a seat for her in the middle of the room, "Chelsea, you get to sit here, and Samantha, this is your seat." Ms. Hazel pointed to a spot as far away from Tucker and Danny as she could get without being in the previously assigned back corner. Sam sadly placed her books on her desk and looked over towards her friends. They both looked apologetic. Sam silently shrugged her shoulders and smiled sadly.

When Ms. Hazel finished assigning seats, she got back in front of the classroom and asked, "Does anyone have any problems with their current spots?" she paused, "Is anyone seated next to their archrival? Is anyone worried that they'll cheat off the person to their left? Can everyone see the board?"

Sam suddenly felt inspired. She raised her hand and called out, "I have a problem, I sometimes need glasses to see the board when I'm this far back, but I don't have any."

Ms. Hazel grinned and asked the front row, "Does anyone here want to give up their seats for her?"

Almost immediately, Paulina's hand shot up. Front and center was never a comfortable place for anyone as trendy as Paulina was, especially when it was next to a loser like Danny. Ms. Hazel nodded and Sam smiled, her new seat was going to be right next to Danny's!

"You two may switch," stated Ms. Hazel.

Sam practically ran up to Danny and Tucker, both of whom seemed a little sad to see Paulina go, but perked up and were impressed that Sam's plan had worked.

Sam took her spot on Danny's left. _'Sure, its front and center, but it's also right next to Danny and not occupied by Paulina, so that's okay.'_

"Nice job Sam," Tucker said.

"Thanks, but I can't believe I just lied like that; I feel dirty." Sam held up her hands and wiggled her fingers as if trying to flick dirt off her hands.

Danny grabbed one of Sam's wrists and examined her hand. "Hmm," he said as he turned it over, "I don't see any filth, just some black nail polish."

Tucker started laughing when Danny let go of her hand. Sam knew he had just meant it as a joke, but she blushed a tiny bit anyway. _'Danny just held my hand…sort of.'_ When she looked up, she saw Danny smiling back up at her with a little red on his cheeks as well. _'Is something going on, or did he just get burned over summer vacation?' _Sam wondered.

"Hey," said the girl sitting behind Sam, "are you going to pass those back or what?"

Sam turned around and looked at her desk. Ms. Hazel had handed her copies of the syllabus to pass to the other students in her row, but Sam hadn't even noticed.

* * *

Sam's next class was Drama. She'd taken the same course the year before, and enjoyed it so much, she took it again. This year she had the same director, and same peers, but according to her director's introduction, the class was going to be a lot more demanding, and a lot more fun than the year before.

After fourth period was lunch. Sam visited her locker to drop off some of her books and headed off to the cafeteria to get a meal. Because Sam always went to the salad bar instead of the lunch line, she never actually saw Tucker and Danny during lunch until after they'd all gotten their food.

Upon piling her tray with a slightly wilted salad, Sam strode back across the lunchroom towards the group's usual table.

"So," she said as she sat down, "How was fourth period?"

"Annoying," responded Danny.

"Yeah, you know how we all have to take a semester of a Fine Art to graduate?" Tucker added, "Well, Dan and I took Ceramics."

"I know, you told me this at the end of last year." Sam used her Spork to pick at the salad before her.

"I wasn't finished yet," Tucker glared, "Ceramics is the stupidest class ever. We actually took notes, it was so pointless!"

"I offered you guys to take drama with me," Sam reminded them.

"You know how strange those drama people are, we wouldn't be able to fit in at all!" complained Tucker.

Sam stopped playing with her food and looked across the table towards Tucker. Her eyes were narrowed and it was difficult to tell if she was more insulted or angry. "Tuck, you hang out with me all the time." Sam's voice was icy.

Tucker's eyes widened, "No, I didn't mean it like that, I just, you know…um…" Tucker jumped underneath the table and hid from Sam's wrath.

"Sam, you know what he meant," Danny jumped in, trying to save Tucker's life.

Sam smiled, "That's okay, I wasn't really _that _mad."

"Really?" Tucker peeked over the plastic lunch table.

"No, I expected you to say something like that."

"Could've fooled me," Danny's eyes were wide, and he still seemed scared that Sam was mad.

Sam grinned and said in a matter-of-fact tone, "Drama."

Danny laughed and Tucker tentatively giggled.

"So, are we planning on celebrating the new school year sometime soon?" Sam proposed, "If you guys want, we can meet at my house, my grandma's at home, but she shouldn't mind at all."

"Yeah, your house is so big she might not even notice," joked Tucker.

Sam ignored his comment and continued, "So, whatd'ya say?"

"I don't know, my parents are cracking down on me this year. Since Jazz is gone, they'll have more time to watch over me. I expect to not be allowed out at all on school days unless my homework's done," Danny said before shoving a spork-load of noodles into his mouth.

"That's harsh."

"Wait, it's the first day of school, we don't have any homework," Tucker pointed out.

"You haven't been to Lancer's class yet, have you?" said Sam.

"No, I have him for fifth period. Does he give us an assignment?"

"Yeah, we're supposed to write something describing ourselves. It's supposed to be some sort of 'Getting to Know You' project," Danny explained.

"Lancer told us that it had to be exactly 200 words long. That's supposed to be the challenge," Sam clarified.

"Aw man. If he assigns work on the first day, just think of what we'll be doing over the next year!" whined Tucker.

Sam and Danny nodded. They did not look forward to a whole year of homework.

"So, how about a get-together this weekend?" Sam offered.

"Sounds great with me," Danny said.

"Can't. It's my cousin's wedding, and it's out of town," Tucker shrugged, "I'm booked from Friday afternoon to Sunday evening. We're leaving right after school."

"Bummer."

"Hey, you two can meet up without me. I won't mind." Tucker smiled.

"Uh, sure," Sam looked up at Danny.

Danny shrugged, "Sounds like fun."

"So," Sam changed the subject, "Tucker tells me Mr. Thomas is a cool teacher, right Tuck?"

The trio continued chatting through lunch until the bell rang. Tucker went straight to Mr. Lancer's classroom (Danny and Sam had told him that he wouldn't need his books), while the other two went to their lockers for their trig books.

"I don't know why we have to take trig. It's not like I'm planning on using it in my real life," complained Danny.

Sam grinned, "You've said something like that every year since algebra, besides, my counselor told me that it was best to take math junior year because of the SAT's."

"What if I don't want to take them?"

"The SAT's? You need them to get into college."

"What if I don't want to go to college?"

"Now, you're just being stupid. Your parents would kill you."

Danny and Sam arrived in Mr. Thomas' classroom right as the minute bell rang. Most of the class was already assembled, so they took the only set of two seats next to each other in the room.

"I hope Tuck wasn't lying when he said this class was fun. I don't think I could survive another year of math if it's as boring as last year."

"People are recommending my classes? Cool." A young teacher, apparently Mr. Thomas, walked up from behind Danny.

"Alright," said Mr. Thomas when he got to the front of the room. "Usually I don't start classes on time, but I've got a lot to cover today, so if you guys just…" The bell rang and interrupted his statement. Mr. Thomas paused only long enough to squint in mock anger at the speaker on the ceiling. "Anyway, just sit tight so I can tell you all you need to know."

The students exchanged glances. So far, Tuck had been right. Mr. Thomas spoke with energy and enthusiasm, his class promised to be much more exciting than last year's.

"Okay then, I know it's really juvenile and stuff, but for the first few weeks of school, I like to use a seating chart. It helps me remember your names. Now, you guys all know what your best friends names are, so you tell me how you want this classroom organized."

Danny and Sam shook their heads. Whether they went by first or last name didn't matter to them, either way they'd end up on separate ends of the room.

When nobody spoke up, Mr. Thomas decided for himself, "Okay, middle names it is."

"Sam, what's your middle name?" Danny quickly asked.

"I don't like it."

"Just tell me."

"Jean."

"Are you serious?"

"Yeah, what's yours?"

"James."

"Really?"

"I know, isn't it cool? We'll probably still end up next to each other!"

Mr. Thomas started assigning seats down each row. It took him a while to alphabetize the list of middle initials in his head, but he managed. After he gave each student a seat, he made him or her reveal his or her name to the class. Most of them said that they hated their middle name, and one girl refused to say hers; it was fun to hear all the different names.

When he got to the J's of the list, he called out Danny's name first, "Daniel Fenton? With a "J" initial?

"Here!" called out Danny as he took his seat in the back.

"What does it stand for?" The teachers were only given the first letter of each student's middle name on their roll sheet.

"James."

"Ah, that was my father's name," the teacher replied.

"Samantha Manson?" He called out as he walked back up to the front of the room. Sam shook her head and burst out laughing. She and Danny were supposed to be right next to each other, but they were not. _'He can't put Danny in the back and me in the front! That's not fair!'_ Sam knew that she should have been sad about it, but instead, the irony was downright funny. If only one student before them had a different middle name, Danny would have been right in front of her.

Sam said through a giggle, "I go by Sam."

"Really? That's my name, well, except in my case it stands for Samuel, not Samantha," replied Mr. Samuel Thomas, "What's so funny?"

Sam continued laughing as she took her seat and said, "Danny and I were supposed to be next to each other."

"You know, that's not really that funny," said Mr. Thomas in a very serious voice.

Sam just kept on chuckling, "I know."

The teacher looked over at Danny who was smiling and shaking his head. Mr. Thomas didn't bother with asking for Sam's middle name, she was too busy trying to stop laughing, but she kept laughing at how stupid she probably looked when she was trying not to laugh.

When Mr. Thomas finished assigning seats and got back in front of the class, he asked, "Does anyone have a problem with where they are seated?"

It reminded Sam of exactly what Ms. Hazel had said.

Danny raised his hand in the back of the room. "Yeah," he said, "I can't see. Should I move to the front row?"

Mr. Thomas crossed his arms and looked straight at Danny. "Do I look stupid?" he sounded mad, but his eyes were laughing, "I'm sure you can survive a week or so without sitting right next to your girlfriend.

It was obvious that he had been referring to Sam. The Goth girl started laughing non-stop once more. It was pathetic, stupid, and funny all at the same time.

Danny rolled his eyes, "She's not my girlfriend."

"Then why were you lying so you could sit next to her," Mr. Thomas grinned, then continued in a high-pitched, teasing voice, "you like her!"

Sam, who had been calming down a little, was sent into another spasm of laughter. The rest of the class joined in this time. Many of them already knew about how often Danny and Sam were teased about being a couple.

"Would you please just teach us some math?" requested Danny. He had already gotten the impression that he could be a bit more casual with Mr. Thomas.

"Fine, because Danny demands it, we will stop having fun and start learning instead."

The students groaned while Mr. Thomas passed out yet another syllabus for them to add to their collections.

Fifth period continued, Mr. Thomas continued to prove himself a cool person, particularly for a math teacher. Danny and Sam left his class feeling refreshed.

"What do you have next?" asked Danny.

"PE."

"Ha! Sucks for you."

"What I don't understand is how come you don't have to take it this year?"

"I passed the fitness exam." Danny leaned in close to Sam's ear once again and whispered, "I may or may not have used my ghost powers."

As he drew away, Sam elbowed him playfully. "Cheater."

"Heh, at least I'm physically fit in some way," Danny smiled.

Sam grunted and joined the mob of "unfit" students headed for General PE.

After Sam changed into the Casper High gym clothes and put her hair up, she went out to meet up with Tucker. Sam was usually the first girl out of the locker room. Most of the other girls took forever checking their hair and applying lotion before they went out. Sam just changed and left. The only "beautifying" part of her routine was deodorant, but that was hopefully part of everyone's regime.

"Hey Sam," said Tucker, who was already waiting for her outside the gym.

"Hey. How was Lancer?"

"Annoying, as usual. Mr. Thomas?"

"Fun. He seems like a great teacher."

"Cool."

"He even called me Danny's girlfriend."

"Thought he might," smiled Tucker.

"What do you mean? Did you tell him to?" Sam was a little suspicious.

"No, he's just cool like that, you know?"

"I guess."

After ten minutes or so, the rest of the girls started coming out of the locker room in groups of four or more. Sam sometimes felt out of place amongst other girls, especially at times like these, but at least she had a good friend like Tucker to hang around.

Eventually, Mrs. Stein came out to greet her PE students. She began her lecture by assigning numbers for each of them to report to, and then she explained to them why they were all in that class.

"Last year, less than ten-percent of all PE students were able to pass the state requirements for physical fitness. Our goal this year is to get all of you to be able to conquer that test and show it who's boss!"

That was the weird thing about all Physical Education teachers. They all seemed to have random competitive streaks that came out in perfectly normal situations.

"Now, all of you are here because you failed some portion of the Physical Fitness Test. Along with learning the finer points of sports and teamwork like usual, we will also be working on perfecting those areas in which you failed."

After the teacher used a lot of shouting to get her class psyched up for passing the test, and a bit of stretching, she let her students hang out for the last five minutes of class.

Sam and Tucker met up at his PE number. "So," Sam asked, "what part of the test did you not pass?"

"Eh, sit-ups, pull-ups, push-ups, sprints, the mile…I passed the sit and reach, though."

"I did average for most of those things, which means I barely passed them. I aced sit-ups, but I bombed the pull and push-ups."

"I see, basically, you have no upper-body strength."

"And you only have the strength to reach for things. You probably get all your practice with the TV remote," she laughed.

Tucker laughed as well, "How'd you know?"

Finally, after six and a half hours of being trapped at school, the last bell of the day rang, releasing all of the students. Tucker and Sam waited outside the entrance of the school for Danny to show up. Then they spent the whole walk home comparing their history teachers. Clearly, Mrs. McDonaldson's class was the worst.

"You know, for somebody who's name is associated with the happy meal, she sure is nasty."

Tucker left the group first and crossed over to a street on the left to head home. "I'll see you guys tomorrow!" he shouted as he went.

"Bye!" waved Sam and Danny.

The pair of friends continued walking in silence for a brief while. However, it wasn't an uncomfortable silence at all. Both of them felt completely at ease to simply walk next to the other. It was something they just sometimes did.

Danny was the first one to break the silence. "Sam?" he asked.

"Yeah?"

"There's something I didn't tell you before."

Sam raised one eyebrow curiously, "What do you mean?"

"About the ghost from this morning. I didn't want to tell you something, but I think I should."

Sam just nodded and waited for Danny to continue so he could start making sense.

"When I said that the other ghost didn't say much, I wasn't exactly telling the truth. He did say something…"

"About what?"

"Remember how I told you he said he was looking for something 'fun'?"

"Yeah, did he say what kind of fun?"

"He mentioned you."

"Me?" Sam stopped walking in surprise.

"Yeah, I didn't know if I should've told you earlier, I didn't want you to worry, but he said…" Danny stopped talking when Sam interrupted him.

"Dan, you know I'm not some sort of weakling girl, I can handle myself."

"I know Sam, that's why I decided to warn you."

Sam started to walk again, but more slowly this time. Her street was coming up, and Danny would keep walking without her.

"Sam," Danny sounded serious; "he said he was looking for something fun to do, then he said, 'maybe it could be with that pretty Goth chick you hang out with.' That's exactly what he said."

Sam bit the inside of her lip in thought, "So, you're just warning me that he might be…looking for me?"

"Exactly, I'm sure you'll be fine, but just call me if you see him, okay?"

"Sure."

Danny and Sam walked silently for another half of a block before they reached Sam's street.

"I'll see you tomorrow," said Sam.

Danny nodded, "Sam, I'm really sorry about first period when I…um…accidentally…"

"Looked down my shirt?"

Danny blushed, "Yeah, that."

The situation could not have been more awkward.

"Look, just forget about it. Seriously," Sam begged, "please?"

"I'm trying Sam; it's just one of those things that's really hard to forget!"

Sam stared at Danny with her mouth open.

Danny's eyes widened when he realized what he had just said, "That came out totally wrong."

Both of them started blushing furiously. "I've really gotta go now," said Sam.

"Yeah, me too."

"Bye."

"Bye."

They quickly turned away from one another and started walking towards their homes. _'What the heck just happened?'_

* * *

Author Time:

Thanks for reading, and thanks for waiting, and if you justcame in, well, thanks to you too,you people are allgreat!

I assure you, the plot and the story will not continue to move this slowly unless you really want it to. Things will start moving along.

Coco


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